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The Whitlock Gets a Volunteer Makeover

by Amy Wenger on June 9, 2014

Photo Courtesy of Tammy Venable

When Chad Berger was contacted by avid community historian and civic leader RT Henke last fall, Berger was asked about the possibility of taking on a landscaping project, using a group of willing and skilled volunteers. Among the first groups that sprung to Berger's mind was his landscaping class of Bremen High School, and perhaps the Bremen Future Farmers of America chapter as well.

Berger didn't waste much time mulling over the suggestion

Photo Courtesy of Tammy Venable

posed by Henke. Instead, he went straight to work, and he carried his students along the journey with him. The end result has become a new oasis of majestic gardens and glory, all within the peacefully splendorous setting of The Whitlock. Berger and the students were able to finish the endeavor just prior to the close of the school year.
"We enjoy doing community projects like that a few times a year, we're glad to give back," Berger said of his enthusiasm for the effort. "We had to first evaluate their original gazebo that they built and speak with the residents about what kind of things they wanted to see."

Photo Courtesy of Tammy Venable

The goal was relatively simple, Berger adds. "We wanted it to portray a happy and inviting and warm feeling, which helped us choose some of the plants that we did. From there, we had the kids complete some hand designs and generate some computer mock-ups of a finished project. We took our designs back to The Whitlock, where they chose which one we were going to use. I then took two of my introduction to agriculture courses to The Whitlock, and we completed the task in three days, which I was very proud of the kids for working so quickly on that project."